The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for the display of items in a residential, office, commercial, or retail environment, and more particularly to a display system including shelves having a low voltage light fixture mounted underneath.
In a retail environment it is common for merchandise to be displayed on a system of adjustable shelves. For example a display case may resemble a bookcase. This type of display case typically has a number of holes bored into opposing sides of the case. Pegs inserted into the holes support shelves for displaying items, such as merchandise or objet d'art. Such displays may be easily rearranged by relocating the pegs to different sets of holes in the sides of the display case.
Alternatively, the system of adjustable shelves may comprise a wall display. Typically, a number of vertically-oriented, slotted standards are attached to a wall. Brackets having hooks designed to engage the slots on the standards support the shelves. Such displays may be easily rearranged by relocating the brackets to different slots in the vertically oriented standards.
To attract customers it is important that a merchandise display be aesthetically pleasing so as to present the merchandise to a potential customer in a highly visible and attractive manner. In many retail establishments, the major source of lighting is wide area illumination provided by ceiling mounted light fixtures, supplemented with spot lighting to accent and highlight specific areas or merchandise. When non-illuminated shelving is used, shelves nearer the ceiling cast shadows onto lower shelves which results in less than optimal lighting of merchandise displayed on the lower shelves. It is therefore desirable to provide a means of illuminating merchandise on lower shelving or racks of a display.
Prior art attempts to provide illuminated display systems have been less than satisfactory either because they are aesthetically displeasing or are cumbersome and inflexible. Early attempts at providing illuminated shelving were essentially ordinary light fixtures mounted to the underside of a display shelf. A conventional power cord was then run from the light fixture to an outlet. Preferably, the cord was strung under shelving, behind merchandise on display, or otherwise hidden from a customer's view so that it would not detract from an otherwise pleasing display. For a system of fixed shelving, or shelving with a limited range of adjustment, the power cord may be hidden from view fairly successfully. However, when using vertically adjustable shelving, the power cord would typically droop or otherwise be exposed to view.
Previous systems have attempted to alleviate some of these difficulties by providing an outlet or power source that may be moved within a limited range so that it is located adjacent to a shelf containing a light fixture. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,720 discloses a bakery display case that provides vertically adjustable shelves having a light fixture mounted on the front. A plurality of electrical outlets are slidably mounted in a channel at the rear of the display area. The outlets may be relocated vertically within a limited range so that an outlet is juxtaposed adjacent to each shelf, to help minimize power cord exposure.
Alternatively, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,973,796 and 5,425,648, disclose vertical shelf standards including internal conductors. The conductors are housed within the standards in such a way that an ordinary shelf bracket would not contact the conductors. Specially designed couplers include spring wires or clips that contact the internal conductors when the coupler is inserted into the shelf standard. In a display unit according to either of these patents, an illuminated shelf may be inserted into and supported by a pair of shelf standards and a special electrical coupler cabled to a light fixture may be inserted into one of the shelf standards just below the shelf itself to help minimize cable exposure.
While the aforementioned patents solve the problem of providing power to shelf light fixtures, they involve the use of shelf standards and connectors that are electrically and mechanically complex and are therefore more costly to manufacture than conventional shelf standards, and are more susceptible to failure due to mechanical fatigue and wear. Furthermore, electrical connections to the internal conductors of the shelf standards are made by a separate, specially designed connector located adjacent to, but not integral with, a supporting bracket for an illuminated shelf, so the power cord is not entirely hidden from view.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a system of illuminated shelving wherein electrical connections for energizing the illuminated shelves do not detract from the aesthetic appeal of the system.
It would also be desirable to provide a system of illuminated shelving wherein the components thereof are electrically and mechanically simple in design and therefore relatively inexpensive to manufacture.